About 10% of Americans say they have chronic insomnia, and millions of others report poor sleep quality. Ongoing research has found that bad sleep could lead to numerous health problems,…
Tag: stress
Prenatal Stress Timing Shapes Infant Stress Response
Summary: New research reveals that the timing of stress during pregnancy has gender-specific effects on infants, altering how boys and girls respond to stress differently. Scientists found mid-pregnancy stress has…
Brain Changes From Early-Life Stress May Be Reversible
Summary: A new study reveals how prenatal infections followed by early-life stress—known as “two-hit stress”—can lead to brain dysfunction and psychiatric-like behaviors. Researchers found that affected mice showed abnormal cerebellar…
Prenatal Stress Hormones Alter Brain Development
Summary: Environmental factors like stress and medication exposure during pregnancy can shape brain development, but the mechanisms remain unclear. Researchers used brain organoids to study the effects of synthetic glucocorticoids,…
Dopamine Plays Key Role in the Heart’s Stress Response
Summary: Researchers have discovered how stress-induced cardiovascular changes are controlled by the brain. Experiments in rats show that activating the lateral habenula, a stress-sensitive brain region, triggers changes in heart…
How Depression Alters Stress, Health, and Lifespan
Summary: Depression disrupts the body’s stress systems, causing physical health risks like heart disease, diabetes, and stroke, and reducing life expectancy by 7-10 years. The condition triggers brain structure changes,…
How Stressful Events Alter Memories
Summary: Researchers have discovered how stress disrupts memory specificity, leading to generalized aversive memories—a hallmark of PTSD. Stress increases endocannabinoid release, enlarging memory engrams in the brain, which triggers fearful…
